Apurba Jana and his family stranded at the airport on Monday. Picture by Amit Datta

Apurba Jana returned home from Brussels on Monday. The engineer is unlikely to do so again, if he can help it.

“God help this state. I will think twice before returning to Bengal again,” said Jana, trapped in the airport for several hours with his wife and 10-year-old son because of the transport strike.

Jana had come to Bengal to attend his father’s annual funerary rites at his ancestral home in Midnapore.

His was not a case of being caught by surprise. Alerted to the strike, Jana had made what he thought was an adequate alternative arrangement by hiring a car.

But he had not taken into account a big factor. “I am amazed at the fact that the government went out of its way to ensure a successful strike.”

When the family stepped out after landing at 1.30 pm, they could not find the car.

Jana then contacted the rental service, which said the car sent for him was waylaid by strike supporters, who punctured a tyre. “I could not believe it. They promised to send another car. We are waiting for it.”